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Summer is here.
For our family, summer means that Joseph and Tim get 20 new "friends" to play with (our young adult staff), Keith usually pulls at least one all-nighter at the office, and Sarah either cooks or organizes several dozen meals for our large staff team. To an outsider, our life probably looks a bit chaotic, relationally overwhelming, and all-around exhausting. It is.
Over the years, we have learned to adapt not only ourselves, but also our ministry, to thrive in this environment, and we are glad that God continues to use us as His instruments in the lives of so many people. Whether having a late-night prayer session to restore a staff person or sharing the joy of living in our neighborhood with four new youth groups on a Sunday night (who we know will experience this joy, too), the ways that God works far outweighs the sacrifice of having a more predictable life.
As I told one of our inquiring staff this spring, it seems that this life suits us. And when you can say that about a life that is full of both personal sacrifice and God's glory, that is a very good thing indeed.
All this is not to say that we live without challenges (those come daily), or that we never have thoughts of a different life (let's just say, "there are those days..."). So in that respect, we invite you to pray with us this summer in the following ways:
- Pray for a balance of family and ministry. Our everyday life is intertwined with our ministry so that some days we don't know exactly where the lines between them are, and we're okay with that. In fact, we prefer it. However, we recognize that our family has needs that can not be met in the context of ministry, but only as we spend time together. Pray that Keith can adapt his schedule in such a way to spend time with Sarah and the boys for the time we all need.
- Pray for the Sarah as she (bravely) travels with the boys this summer to visit Keith's family in South Carolina. We are especially aware of how such a long time away from home (over 2 weeks) can be hard on the boys (and parents).
- Ask God to reveal Himself in powerful ways to our staff team of young adults as they spend 10+ weeks leading, serving, sweating, living, and loving together in community. This is probably the most overlooked/underrecognized area where God works throughout the entire ministry. Many times we talk about what happens in the lives of youth in 5 days at BP - imagine what He does in 10 weeks!
- Speaking of the youth, pray for the 260+ teenagers and adult leaders who will participate in the Summer Missions Program. Pray for safety, a willingness to learn, spiritual transformation, and new passions to serve God where they live.
Thank you for keeping up with us and for praying for this ministry.
